Here are the latest reviews of books and other items we have received.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy

By John Griffith ArmstrongUBC Press, 248 pages, 18 illustrationsPaperback : ISBN 0774808918Hardcover : ISBN 077480890XThe 1917 collision between two vessels in Halifax harbour resulted in vast amounts of damage and human carnage. The new Canadian Navy, just 7 years old, struggled under the weight of destruction that was unparalleled.This book covers the events leading up to the collision and the inquiry that followed.In the book, the various issues surrounding the care and management of the numerous vessels from through out the world appear to overwhelm the young inexperienced navy. All the issues combined to produce the recipe for disaster, a question of not if, but when.Armstrong, a career officer who taught at the Royal Military College, covers the sad story of the event in great detail and with an experts eye. This book is for the most serious of historians interested in the Royal Canadian Navy’s early formative years or those interested in the study of Halifax.This tome, I would highly recommend for those reading about the proud, but young RCN. (RB)